Over the last decade or so, companies have installed enterprise networks with one or more local area networks in order to allow their employees access to various network resources. To improve efficiency, enhancements have been added to local area networks such as wireless access. Based on this enhancement, wireless local area networks (WLANs) have been and continue to be utilized by more and more companies.
Typically, a WLAN supports communications between wireless stations (STAs) and Access Points (APs). In general, each AP operates as a relay station by supporting communications with other network devices, such as wireless stations and other APs being part of a wireless network, as well as with resources on a wired network.
In some implementations, a WLAN features a collection of virtual local area networks (VLANs), which are created in order to enable multicast and broadcast transmissions from an AP to be directed to smaller groups of wireless stations. In general, a “VLAN” is a logical subgroup within a local area network (e.g., WLAN) that is created via software rather than physical movement of networking cables. It combines network devices, such as a plurality of wireless stations (STAs) for example, into a single collective group regardless of its physical LAN segment.
While multiple VLANs can be supported within a WLAN, there are no mechanisms that provide sufficient security to broadcast and multicast transmissions since such transmissions are provided to all STAs associated with the AP. There is no communication scheme that segregates and restricts broadcast and multicast coverage to different VLANs supported by the same network device.